AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-40643

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In Messaging, there is a possible missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The vulnerability exists in the Messaging component where a permission check is missing. This allows a local attacker to access sensitive messaging information without requiring any elevated privileges. The CVSS vector indicates a local attack vector with no privileges required, high confidentiality impact, but no integrity or availability impact.

MitigationImplement proper permission checks in the Messaging component to ensure only authorized processes can access message data. Apply the appropriate Android/iOS permission model for the component.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 11.0= 12.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and note the exact version number displayed
    Affected if The version shows exactly 11.0 or exactly 12.0 (not 11.0.x or 12.0.x variants)
  2. Identify default messaging application
    Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Messaging app (or SMS) and note which app is set as the default
    Affected if Any messaging app is set as default on an affected Android version (11.0 or 12.0)
  3. Verify Messaging component is present
    Check if Google Messages or other messaging app is installed by reviewing installed apps in Settings > Apps > See all apps
    Affected if A messaging application is installed on an affected Android version
  4. Confirm no third-party security overlay
    Review if a mobile device management (MDM) or security solution is enforcing additional permission controls on the messaging app
    Affected if No additional permission controls are enforced and the device runs Android 11.0 or 12.0

A device is affected if it runs Android version 11.0 or 12.0 exactly and has a messaging application installed with default permissions, as the missing permission check in the Messaging component would allow unauthorized access to message data.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement proper permission checks in the Messaging component to ensure only authorized processes can access message data. Apply the appropriate Android/iOS permission model for the component.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-40643 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data